Published: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.

Among the items still in limbo during the super-secret budget negotiations being held behind closed doors is the fate of one of the state's best-received education initiatives, the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program. The state House's version of the budget would reinstate the program as of the 2014-15 budget year; the Senate's version would stick firm to a 2011 law that killed the scholarship program.

It remains to be seen whether House leaders have the political will to insist that this program be restored, as it most certainly should be. But House members who voted for its return should be commended for recognizing that they made a huge mistake in killing a program that has brought North Carolina some of its finest teachers since its inception in 1986.

The goal is to encourage the best and brightest students to pursue careers in education, and it has succeeded. Students accepted into the program must keep their grades up, and must agree to teach in North Carolina public schools for at least four years in return for a generous four-year scholarship. If they do not fulfill the agreement, they must repay the money.

The program awards up to 500 scholarships annually worth $6,500 a year, or $26,000 for four years at an in-state universtiy, to students who have shown an interest in teaching, who meet certain test score and writing-skill requirements, and who have at least a 2.5 grade point average. But because of the competitive nature of the scholarships, the reality is much more impressive.

According to a study by three University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers done since the legislature cut off new applications, the average teaching fellows recruited posted average SAT scores of 1,169, well above the state and national average, and tended to rank in the top 10 percent of their classes.

Moreover, the researchers also noted that teaching fellows are among the most effective teachers. They have stronger teaching skills, generally score higher on the certification tests than their peers and tend to be less likely to leave the profession, and their students score higher on standardized achievement tests on average. And they tend to be less likely to leave the profession. In other words, the program is worth the money invested in it.

Of the 8,127 graduates of the program, 81 percent fulfilled their teaching requirement; more than half were still working in North Carolina public schools as of the school year that just ended.

Legislators who complain about "failing schools" and ill-prepared teachers should be the first to embrace a program that has proven itself. Instead, many have hopped on the charter-school bandwagon despite mixed results that mirror the disparity among public schools, or push to use taxpayer money to subsidize private schools that have the luxury of picking their student body, which the public schools cannot.

Given the program's success, $26,000 is a small price to recruit the kind of teachers the state needs to move its public schools forward.

If the Honorables in the Senate are truly committed to improving public education in North Carolina, they will agree with their House brethren and sistren that the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program is a valuable tool in achieving that goal.

And Gov. Pat McCrory should insist that the program be part of the final package.

<p>Among the items still in limbo during the super-secret budget negotiations being held behind closed doors is the fate of one of the state's best-received education initiatives, the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program. The state House's version of the budget would reinstate the program as of the 2014-15 budget year; the Senate's version would stick firm to a 2011 law that killed the scholarship program.</p><p>It remains to be seen whether House leaders have the political will to insist that this program be restored, as it most certainly should be. But House members who voted for its return should be commended for recognizing that they made a huge mistake in killing a program that has brought North Carolina some of its finest teachers since its inception in 1986.</p><p>The goal is to encourage the best and brightest students to pursue careers in education, and it has succeeded. Students accepted into the program must keep their grades up, and must agree to teach in North Carolina public schools for at least four years in return for a generous four-year scholarship. If they do not fulfill the agreement, they must repay the money.</p><p>The program awards up to 500 scholarships annually worth $6,500 a year, or $26,000 for four years at an in-state universtiy, to students who have shown an interest in teaching, who meet certain test score and writing-skill requirements, and who have at least a 2.5 grade point average. But because of the competitive nature of the scholarships, the reality is much more impressive. </p><p>According to a study by three University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill researchers done since the legislature cut off new applications, the average teaching fellows recruited posted average SAT scores of 1,169, well above the state and national average, and tended to rank in the top 10 percent of their classes.</p><p>Moreover, the researchers also noted that teaching fellows are among the most effective teachers. They have stronger teaching skills, generally score higher on the certification tests than their peers and tend to be less likely to leave the profession, and their students score higher on standardized achievement tests on average. And they tend to be less likely to leave the profession. In other words, the program is worth the money invested in it.</p><p>Of the 8,127 graduates of the program, 81 percent fulfilled their teaching requirement; more than half were still working in North Carolina public schools as of the school year that just ended.</p><p>Legislators who complain about "failing schools" and ill-prepared teachers should be the first to embrace a program that has proven itself. Instead, many have hopped on the charter-school bandwagon despite mixed results that mirror the disparity among public schools, or push to use taxpayer money to subsidize private schools that have the luxury of picking their student body, which the public schools cannot.</p><p>Given the program's success, $26,000 is a small price to recruit the kind of teachers the state needs to move its public schools forward. </p><p>If the Honorables in the Senate are truly committed to improving public education in North Carolina, they will agree with their House brethren and sistren that the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program is a valuable tool in achieving that goal.</p><p>And Gov. Pat McCrory should insist that the program be part of the final package.</p>